1. Technical Field
The disclosure relates to a back post for an optical fiber connector; and more particularly, to a plastic back post for an optical fiber connector.
2. Description of the Related Art
Fiber optics has revolutionized communication throughout the world. With the increased used of fiber optics it has become increasingly important to be able to connect and disconnect fiber optic cables from various sources. Two fiber optic cables can be optically coupled so that they are in communication with each other by using connectors and an adapter, thereby putting each fiber optic cable in communication with the other. The connectors are placed on the end of each cable and then plugged into the adapter. The adapter has two openings each one designed to receive a connector.
Referring to FIGS. 1a and 1b, a conventional LC type optical fiber connector 100 has a generally rectangular shape with a square cross section. The connector 100 includes a rectangular hollow housing 110 comprised of a top side-wall 111, a bottom side-wall 112, a right side-wall 113 and a left side-wall 114, wherein the right side-wall 113 is positioned opposite to the left side-wall 114 and connects with the bottom side-wall 112 and the top side-wall 111. A latch 120 is molded into the top side-wall 111 and includes a living hinge 125 which allows the tab 126 to be moved up and down in a direction perpendicular to the central axis 150-150 of the connector 100. The latch 120 includes a pair of protrusions 121 that are positioned on opposing sides of the tab 126. In addition, a ferrule 140 protrudes from a circular opening 116 on the front end of the housing 110. A spring 188 is located within the housing 110 to allow the ferrule 140 to move back and forth through the opening 116. A pair of protrusions 160 is positioned on the right side-wall 113 and left side-wall 114, respectively. A rectangular opening 118 is formed on each of the right side-wall 113 and left side-wall 114. A boot 170 extends from the rear end of the housing 110.
In addition, the connector 100 further includes a ferrule holder 130, a back post 182, a crimping ring 184 and a shrink tube 186, wherein the ferrule holder 130 and back post 182 are located inside the housing 110. The ferrule 140 has one end mounted on the ferrule holder 130. The spring 188 is arranged between the ferrule holder 130 and the back post 182. The spring 188 pushes the ferrule holder 130 forward such that the front end of the ferrule holder 130 is brought into contact with an annular protrusion 117 on inner walls of the housing 110. The ferrule 140 is pushed through the annular protrusion 117 and protrudes from the opening 116 of the housing 110.
In general, the back post 182 is made of metal and processed by lathe or CNC lathe. Since the shape of the back post 182 is complex, the process cost thereof is therefore much high. The reason the back post 182 is made of metal is that Kevlar fiber is commonly used as a strength member in fiber optic cable. The aluminum crimping ring 184 is used to crimp the Kevlar fiber on the back post 182 to prevent the fiber optic cable from detaching from the connector 100 under a pull force. If the back post 182 is not hard enough, the crimping ring 184 will deform the back post 182 and therefore fails to crimp the Kevlar fiber. In view of the above, the conventional back post 182 is made with metal.
Accordingly, there exists a need to provide a solution to solve the aforesaid problems.